PSL 11 Eliminator: Shan lifts Multan Sultans to 159 against Hyderabad Kingsmen

Shan Masood hit an unbeaten 69 as Multan Sultans set a 160-run target for Hyderabad Kingsmen in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11’s first eliminator clash at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Wednesday.

Put into bat first in the high-stakes fixture, the Sultans finished at 159/9 in their 20 overs, courtesy of Masood.

The Sultans got off to a shaky start to their innings as Mohammad Ali dismissed their experienced opener Steve Smith (13) in the third over with just 28 runs on the board.

Kingsmen then lost two more wickets in successive overs as Akif Javed got in-form opener Sahibzada Farhan (15) caught at cover point, while Hunain Shah trapped Josh Philippe (six) lbw, and consequently slipped to 36/3 inside the batting powerplay.

Following the early stutter, captain Ashton Turner (nine) and his deputy Shan Masood attempted to force a recovery by batting cautiously but could add 15 runs for the fourth wicket as the former was sent back by Saim Ayub in the seventh over.

Glenn Maxwell inflicted another blow to the Sultans’ batting expedition as he got rid of their young all-rounder Arafat Minhas on the first delivery of the eighth over and brought the total further down to 52/5.

Meanwhile, Masood, who stood his ground firmly during the collapse, then shared a crucial 33-run partnership for the sixth wicket with all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz, who contributed with an 18-ball 19 before falling victim to Javed in the 12th over.

Sultans endured another setback an over later as Ali cleaned up Mohammad Imran Randhawa (two) to expose their batting tail.

Hunain ensured retaining the momentum in Kingsmen’s favour as he bowled Peter Siddle in the 16th over.

Masood, however, kept the scoreboard ticking single-handedly and eventually brought his 10th PSL half-century in the 18th over.

The left-handed batter batted until the end and top-scored with an unbeaten 69 off 46 deliveries, studded with four sixes and as many fours.

For Kingsmen, the pace trio of Hunain, Ali and Javed bagged two wickets each, while spinners Maxwell and Saim chipped in with one scalp apiece.